Cut the tofu into small pieces, drain the water from the tofu and set aside. Heat up a wok and pour in the cooking oil and chili oil. Add the chopped garlic, ground pork, spicy bean paste and stir-fry until the pork is half-done. Then add in chili powder, soy sauce, fermented black beans and stir-fry until aromatic. Add in the tofu and water; stir gently to blend the tofu (don’t break them) well with the sauce. Lower the heat and simmer for about 3-5 mins or until the sauce thickens. Add in the roasted Sichuan peppercorn powder and chopped scallions. Gently stir and blend well. Dish out and serve hot.

I must confess I made quite a bit of modifications to this recipe. I used minced beef instead of pork, I didn’t have any scallions so I used flat leaf parsley instead (left over from the spanish fish soup). I didn’t have any Sichuan peppercorn powder (I didn’t want to buy a bottle of it from Waitrose and not use it for months and even years). Oh, and I added mushrooms and peas (left over from the braised peas and onion to make it a more balanced meal. So the final product is probably not that authentic but it suits my craving for a decent chinese meal rather than just the normal stir fries I cook every week.

Steps:
1) mix tofu, mushrooms, chives together – mash the tofu till ground-up. You can do that with a fork
2) add sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce and egg, mix thoroughly
3) wrap tightly in wanton skins.
4) In the meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt and a little oil.
5) When water boils, add the dumplings.
6) They are cooked when they float to the top.
7) Serve with vinegar as dipping sauce, or pour your choice of hot, clear soup over it. (We did it with Miso, which tasted really good, I reckon chicken broth would be nice too.)

Place seasoned pork with kimchi in a pot. Add water and bring to the boil

Reduce heat and add bean curd. Simmer for 20 minutes

Garnish with leek slices and serve hot

I live near a Korean restaurant in London and it has really opened my eyes to Korean cuisine. Previously, my understanding of Korean food was limited to Seoul Garden and Korean bbq. I realise now that kimchi is the basis of their cooking, and not just as a side dish. I bought a Korean cookbook from Kino and there are a number of dishes in that book that I have tried at that Korean restaurant. And so the experimenting begins.